City slicker turns country girl with mobile milk business in West Cork

SALLY Kearney used to be a city slicker. Now she is a milk maid!

She and husband Michael have come up with an innovative new way to sell their Jersey milk directly to consumers with a mobile milk truck operating in West Cork, called Bó Bainne Úr.

“It’s going really well,” says Sally, a mother-of-three, who has taken a career break as a family support worker to get the family business up and running.

We are very busy, and the locals here are very supportive, often standing in the rain to get served.

“People in the queues are always good-humoured and we enjoy a bit of banter with them. Having regular customers is great.”

Business is brisk.

“We were sold out twice!” adds Sally, who is mum to Madeleine, 25, Sara, 13 and Dennis, 10.

Bó Bainne Úr (fresh cow’s milk) is a specially converted horse box transformed into a hi-tech, self-service milk dispenser. It was launched after two years of hard work and is currently selling around the Clonakilty area.

How did Sally, a city girl from St Luke’s, adapt to the Good Life in the country?

“I met Michael in Cork in 2009,” says Sally. He was a farmer who lived beside the sea.

“I just love being beside the sea,” says Sally.

However, she didn’t take the leap to country living instantly.

“It was a slow enough introduction to the country because my eldest daughter was attending secondary school in Cork, and we decided to stay while she was there. We moved to West Cork in 2019.”

Sally and Michael commuted from city to country.

Before we moved for good, we were up and down to the land, three farms, and we had a mobile home that we used before we built our own house in April, 2019.

“Unfortunately, we had a house fire in our rented house in Blackrock in Cork, so we had to get our new house built fairly quickly.”

When the couple moved permanently to West Cork, Sally got stuck in.

“I started milking cows, getting lessons from Michael. He trained me in.”

“It was very entertaining!” she laughs. “I washed the yard, fed the calves and did loads of other outdoor chores around the farm.”

The milk is from a good source.

The farms that provides the milk for Bó Bainne Úr are home to 300 Jersey cows.

I tell Sally that when I moved from town to country many years ago, I never got used to the smell of slurry.

“Oh, you’re right!” she laughs. “I used to ask, what is that smell! Now I am immune to it!”

“Michael doesn’t own his own land, he rents it, and about two years ago he started looking into smart micro-dairies,” says Sally.

“Typically, farmers could house a milk dispenser and vending machine in one of their farm buildings - but we didn’t have that facility.”

Michel began his research.

“He was on YouTube looking at an outfit in the UK where a farmer had the micro smart dairy,” says Sally. 

“Michael thought it was a great idea, especially should Covid occur again and there was another pandemic. We’d be Covid proof.

“In 2021, he got into contact with a Limerick company called Unison.”

What happened next?

“Through Unison, Micheel purchased a modular dairy unit, a nine-metre pre-fabricated unit which is effectively a mini-dairy that can pasteurise milk,” explains Sally.

The hard work began to get the milk to market. “Michael sought to modify the unit so that it would pass Department of Agriculture regulations for dairy production.”

There were a lot of technical regulations which had to be passed.

“There was a lot of work involved in that,” says Sally.

People helped the couple out in their endeavour to get the show on the road.

“We got a lot of support from the regional inspector from the department, who was very helpful.”

In January, Bó Bainne Úr was up and running.

That must have been exciting for the Kearneys?

“We were thrilled!” says Sally. “It’s the first of its kind in Ireland.

“Our daughter Madeleine is really good managing social media, and she got the word out there that we were ready for road.”

How is the milk sold?

“It is sold in glass bottles which are reusable,” says Sally. “They can be refilled, though users can bring their own bottles to get filled also.

The branded bottles are €3.50 and the milk is sold for €2 a litre or €1 for 500mls.

The product is from a top-class source.

“The milk comes from Michael’s own herd of 300 pure-bred Jersey cows in Clonakilty,” says Sally. “Bó Bainne Úr is a healthy product and our Jersey milk has a high calcium content, is high in protein and A2 protein, so it’s very easy to digest and is good for the gut.”

There are more advantages to the Jersey milk.

“It is high in Vitamins D and B12 and omega 3,” says Sally.

Who is head of operations?

“We are manning it now, helping new users to operate, but the plan is for the service to be completely self-service,” says Sally.

How will that work?

“Users simply choose a bottle if they need to, then place it in the door of the milk machine, choose if you want 500mls, tap or pay coins and then wait for the milk to fill.”

There is an added bonus.

“You can add syrup to sweeten the milk if you wish,” says Sally. “We have a variety of flavours, including bubble gum, chocolate, strawberry, Nutella, and vanilla.

“When the bottle is taken out, the machine automatically cleans for the next user.”

What is the long-term plan for Bó Bainne Úr?

“The plan isn’t to take on dairies,” says Sally. “Instead, it’s an opportunity to sell our Jersey milk product and our flavoured milk products directly to consumers.”

It is a family affair.

It’s a family business, the kids are all on board too, and we see it as environmentally friendly as it’s a small batch and it really fits in with the idea of farm-to-fork.

The product works for people who like to keep fit.

“We park outside Body Image gym in the pike,” says Sally. “Our milk has 18% higher protein, and it is ideal for a post-workout.”

Where else can we visit Bó Bainne Úr?

“We are at Ladies Cross and Owenahincha viewing point. All our schedules are on Instagram @bobainneur.”

Sally is a happy camper; she is a happy milk maid.

 “Michael taught me how to milk the cows,” says Sally. “I actually love milking them now. I find is very relaxing.”